Things That are Worthy to Collect (Part Two)

Many collectors are able to pick worthy things to collect and be psychological and / or pecuniary better off. What criteria should we look for in picking a category to collect? In general, the criteria can be high aesthetic value, easy collection, inexpensiveness, interesting variances, high investment value and rarity. Some collections may meet several criteria at a time. Is it possible to be all-inclusive? Stamps may fulfill this assignment. They are collectible items ideal for anyone to start young. All photos are from the author unless specify.

High aesthetic value

(Master of the Saint Lucy Legend
Mary, Queen of Heaven. Image from National Gallery of Art)

We all know that it is costly to own the original artwork of famous paintings. Many of them are in the hands of wealthy private collectors or in the museums; even so, the public can still own the stunningly beautiful images in form of stamps. Here is a stamp showing the artwork of Master of the Saint Lucy Legend. Can you identify which part it extracts from the original?

Easy collection

There are several ways to collect stamps. Collection is easy if you can manage to get some helps from others.

a) Make friends all over the world and send small gifts to one another at special event such as Birthday and Christmas.
b) Send money to overseas acquaintances so that they can buy stamps to stick on big envelopes and mail them to you.
c) Check with acquaintances that enjoy buying from private overseas sellers. They may offer you some free stamps.
d) Visit shops that sell used stamps – the gift shop of Singapore Philatelic Museum for example.
e) When traveling, mail some souvenirs or own belongings to your home.
f) Exchange with other stamp collectors or even non-collectors if you have other things they want.

Inexpensiveness

Free continuous supply is possible if you are lucky enough to have acquaintances who are not stamp collectors. Even if you have to buy stamps as aforementioned, the cost is still relatively small when comparing with other things like CDs and toys, etc. The basic accessories for stamp-collecting are the stamp tweezers and album, again not too expensive to obtain. In case you do not have extra money to buy the accessories, store the stamps in a pp bag and then any box close-at-hand.

Interesting variances

Each stamp has its own different theme. The scope is so wide that it is a portrayal of the society, people, animals, plants, technology, events and many others. Some stamp collectors enjoy a bigger challenge by focusing on one theme only – train for example. Compare stamps of the same theme among different countries and periods will be interesting. If you are professional enough, you can tell the history of a specific theme by simply showing stamps.

High investment value

Face value of a stamp varies from a few cents to a few dollars. Store them well and be patient. Let time flies and keep increasing the size of your collection. Try adding stamps that have low print run. The value appreciation may take many years, or even a few generations to realize, but the new surplus value may astonish people. Stamp-collecting is an investment that can be passed to your descendants easily, but make sure they know the value and do not throw them away as rubbish.

Rarity

Rarity is a crucial factor to determine price, especially in the world of collection. Stamps are rarer because bulk mail service is widely used in the commercial sector now. Through Permit Mailing and Franked Mailing, there is no need to waste time sticking the postage stamps on each letter or parcel. Of course there are other factors affecting rarity – wars and disasters for example.

You may wonder the survival chance for postage stamps. It can be zero if someone invents an instant transmitting machine that delivers any goods with just one button press. Will that day come? It is too early to insist or deny the possibility. However, some of your collections may still enjoy a good price even if using postage stamps in mailing goes on forever.

Introduce stamp-collecting as a good hobby to you and your kids. It is never too late to get started. Build and expand your collection. Hope all the effort lives long enough to bring forth a good yield to you and your descendants.

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Other collection related articles you may interest in reading:

Understanding the Roles of a Doll

Things That are Worthy to Collect (Part One)